Accessible Golf

Martin E. Block, PhD, is an associate professor in the kinesiology program at the University of Virginia, where he has been the director of the master's program in adapted physical education for 12 years. From 1988 to 1999, he served as the consultant to and director of the Special Olympics Motor Activities Training Program, creating assessment tools and adapted equipment for athletes with severe disabilities. Block was the chair for the Adapted Physical Activity Council of the American Association for Active Lifestyles and Fitness (AAALF) and American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). He also chaired the Motor Development Academy of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and AAHPERD. Block is a member of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps (TASH), and he most recently received the Virginia AAHPERD College Professor of the Year Award in 2004. Block, his wife, Vickie, and their daughters reside in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Dan Drane, PhD, is coordinator of the Coaching and Sport Management program at the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Drane has been a member of the PGA of America since 1994 and currently serves on the education committee for the National Alliance for Accessible Golf. Before coming to Southern Mississippi, he was director of the Professional Golf Management program at Clemson University. His research interests include sport marketing, youth sports, service learning, and golf. Dr. Drane has written articles for many peer-reviewed journals and made numerous national and international academic presentations. He currently resides in Petal, Mississippi, with his wife, Kara, and two sons, Hogan and Ian.

ABOUT THE LPGA
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is the longest-running women's sports association in the world, having celebrated its 50th anniversary in the year 2000. Dedicated to the worldwide promotion and advancement of golf, the organization has grown from its roots as a playing tour into a nonprofit organization involved in every facet of golf. The LPGA maintains a strong focus on charity through its tournaments, its grassroots junior and women's programs, its affiliation with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and the formation of the LPGA Foundation.

The LPGA Tour and the LPGA Teaching & Club Professional (T&CP) Membership make up the backbone of this organization. The LPGA Tour season includes 34 events with total prize money in excess of $45 million. The LPGA Teaching & Club Professional (T&CP) Membership, founded in 1959, has enjoyed unprecedented growth in recent years and with nearly 1,300 members boasts the largest membership of female golf professionals in the country. LPGA T&CP are dedicated to the advancement of golf through teaching, managing golf facilities, and coaching future stars. Its member programs include national programs and conferences in entrepreneurial and business skills training, tournaments, sponsor and licensee benefits, employment services, golf clinics, and junior golf programs. Considered an industry leader in its teacher education programs, the LPGA T&CP Membership also administers the LPGA's various grassroots programs that are vital to the continued growth of the game, including the Ronald McDonald House Charities LPGA Tour Junior Golf Clinics, LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, and the LPGA Clinics for Women.

The LPGA Foundation was established in 1991. Junior golf programs, scholarships, and financial assistance are among the major programs supported through the LPGA Foundation, which has four main goals: to develop and maintain junior golf programs across the country; to develop and maintain scholarship programs for junior golfers; to maintain a financial assistance fund for those in the golf industry; and to conduct research and develop educational activities related to golf instruction. The LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program and the Dinah Shore, Marilynn, and RMHC scholarships are some of the programs that have helped to establish the LPGA Foundation as a leader in youth initiatives.

The LPGA is under the guidance of Commissioner Carolyn Bivens and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. For more information about the LPGA, visit www.lpga.com. Proceeds from the sale of Accessible Golf will be donated to the LPGA Foundation's DeDe Owens Education and Research Fund.